Thursday, January 7, 2010

fight fight fight

okay, this one is for all the marbles. Norman Osborn has lost it (or has he really?), and plots with the eternal Asgardian trickster Loki to create another Stamford, and cement his power grab in the guise of protection. quite the sign of the times as the whole 00 decade was one big Republican power trip (with all due respect to 9/11), and fittingly, as the decade closes, the Marvel Universe reflects this as Osborn (representing all that's bad with the government) goes for the big play and his presumably, eventual downfall.

the stand-in for Stamford this time is Chicago's Soldier Field, and the choice may have been driven by the writer's disgust with the play of the Bears' assumed savior at quarterback, Jay Cutler. just kidding. and who's the patsy for this show? well, look no further than the Voluminous Volstagg who's not been the sharpest of tools in the workshop, but certainly the most innocent and loyal of all of Thor's compatriots. how Fandral and Hogun let him out of their sights, i don't know. certainly they should take responsibility for their wayward little big brother. tee- hee.

interestingly, its the longtime Hulk villains, the U-Foes (yes, Virginia, they were named that way. blame Bill Mantlo and Sal Buscema.), who are sent to bait Volstagg into causing a big disaster. attacking Asgard (hello, Iraq) is Osborn's 'solution' and apparently Prez Obama and Congress are helpless in stopping him. no one learns from the lessons of history, especially if you have fear mongers among you. all you need is a big target and sell that. who needs the Hate Monger and Mr. Fear?

being a four-issue series, Bendis sort of fast forwards the scenes so we get to the invasion of Asgard right here and now. the corollary scenes would be in the related titles (that's why they provide you with checklists so you can prepare your wallet) but i expect scheduling conflicts to provide bumps to the reading pleasure (hello, Captain America Reborn). if you'd rather wait for the trade, that would be fine (as long as you stay off the internet in the next 6 to 8 months). but this thing is too good to miss. at least just to see how everything gets resolved, and what other event cards are Marvel holding up its sleeve once Osborn is gone and the world goes back to (relatively) normal.